Password data breach

Mark_exp

On my Bitfender Central Security Dashboard Digital Identity Protection, it indicates that my email has been appeared in a data breach, with no other info what was revealed in the breach. How can I find this info?

Alexandru_BD

Hi @Mark_exp,

I will do my best to provide further clarification regarding the data breaches.

To find stolen data, the service scans the dark corners of the web using various methods. Once the data is found, it uses a proprietary system for identity resolution to discover the identity of the breached individual, so it can alert the person about the breach, even if the breach itself includes little or outdated information.

Most commonly, breaches include information about users’ emails, passwords, names and usernames, phone numbers, and physical addresses. Their exposed data creates a snowball effect that ultimately leads to the leak, sale, or trade of entire digital identities on the Dark Web.

Breaches are not necessary found on a specific website. They are in a compilation of usernames, passwords, phone numbers, etc. found in archives or texts on the Dark Web, in general.

The Digital Identity Protection service raises awareness about your Digital Footprint (data exposed in Surface Web) and remediation steps for data breaches (data exposed in Dark Web). However, you would not be able to change the username for a specific website, but you will be informed that in that specific period, data about you has appeared in data lists on the dark web.

This means that you could become victim of a scam. As the purpose is to raise awareness of these breaches and the data involved can be various, there are no mitigation steps for the situation. If the breach was about a password, you could have changed it, but the breach can also involve other types of data, such as phone numers, address, etc. And if these are listed somewhere on the dark corners of the web, there is no possible way to retrieve or delete them from there, because you don't have control over that leaked information.

Regards